Determine, right now, to make a difference today – even a small thing can be big in someone else’s eyes.

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for everything: the good empowers me and fills me with joy; the challenging grows my character and perseverance. Amen!

Have you noticed how easy it is to give advice to others, while overlooking what you might need guidance on?

Recommending a change of direction or lifestyle in someone else’s world is easy but it is not so easy to do for ourselves.

The world has many well-intentioned folk. Some are not Godly and certainly not kind. They make unrealistic, even cruel demands on others, ensuring their own needs are met, while completely ignoring the difficulties and restrictions they impose upon others.

A saving grace in complex or dangerous situations, if you believe in the one true God, is to remember that you do have a ‘safe place to go’.

God lives in the hearts of all believers and no-one can take Him away from us. Life can be full of regulations and controls that burden and even cause us to consider ‘giving-up’, those times are when God’s people seek the quiet of a God-filled heart. They in turn receive a strength that is beyond the understanding of non-believers, many of whom will ridicule our dependence upon a God that cannot be seen.

Prayer: Father God, let us always remember who is truly in charge. We can be overwhelmed by the control that others have on our lives. Help us to focus on You and trust in Your provision for our well-being and our inner peace. Lord help us to continue to grow in our faith. Amen

Today, I feel burdened! We have a friend who has major health issues. She and her husband have been estranged for years. The sadness, I feel, is for her children and the fact that they have not been permitted contact with their mother for many years. The sadness, is also due to the choices they have each made to not decide for themselves, to contact her. They are all adults, but have had their minds and hearts hardened due to the ongoing negative comments, made by their father of their mother.

So this posting is to ask you for prayer for this lady!

It is to ask God for a Christmas miracle for Christina.

It is for prayer for reconciliation for this family (mother and children).

It is to ask God for His peace, grace and wisdom to rule supreme in all their hearts and minds.

It is to ask for God’s spirit of love and healing to fill the hearts, minds, bodies and spirits of each member of this family, including the father.

We all have the freedom of choice and recently, I chose to commit to a writing challenge. The goal is to write 50,000 words through the month of November – the biggest challenge has been what to write about.

Someone once said to me, “The world is your oyster” – and thinking about that statement made me realize it also applies to my ‘topic’ dilemma! It’s all very well saying that but ‘what to choose’ – as in a subject to write about is an overwhelming thought.

Having considered much and deliberated even more – I decided to write about a successful author (fictional) looking back over – what had been a roller-coaster ride of a life for her and for her loved ones.

In developing this idea, it occurred to me that we all encounter ‘roller-coaster’ situations in our lives and often take advice from the wrong sources.

The bible gives us simple yet very effective advice: ‘Love Each Other” – imagine the kind of world we would live in if we respected one another, loved one another and did not judge one another?

Consider this:

1 John 3:7-10 Children, don’t be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself. Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done. God’s children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving power lives in them and makes them His children, so that they cannot keep on sinning. You can tell God’s children from the devil’s children, because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other. (CEV)

1 John 4:16b-21 God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and He will stay one with us. If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won’t be worried about the day of judgement. A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows that we have not really learned to love. We love because God loved us first. But if we say we love God and don’t love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don’t love the people we (can) see? The two commandments that God has given us are: Love God and love each other”.

Sinful folk will not have your best interests at heart! They will take advantage of you – your situation – your naivete – your weaknesses! They will laugh at you – will not respect you and will certainly lie if it is to their advantage. I know this to be fact – because I have encountered such people through my life; they are very convincing and very manipulative and they will con you out of everything that is good and wholesome in your life. They will NOT be lovers of God – nor will they believe in Jesus as His Son. They will scoff at such beliefs; whereas if you choose to take the life-giving, life-saving advice that can be found in the Bible – your life can be immensely changed, for the better.

The Contemporary English Version or The Message are both written in every day language, that can be easily understood. Try one of them and see for yourself, if you have the inclination – it will be well worth the effort.

At a particularly crucial time, in my life, I was drawn to this Psalm in a bible! I was in England and had travelled out of the city to attend a job interview – for an exciting and challenging position working with seniors. I had time to spare and wanted to calm my nerves and so walked into a church close to where my appointment was to be. I walked to the front of a small chapel and knelt; picked up a bible and asked God to guide and reassure me – to show me what to read – the bible ‘fell’ open at Psalm 23 and I have loved that particular psalm ever since.

Here is another version that I came across recently – I do hope you like it and are comforted by the words contained therein!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd (that’s relationship)

I shall not want (that’s supply or provision)

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (rest)

He leadeth me beside the still waters (refreshment)

He restoreth my soul (healing)

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness (guidance)

For His names’ sake (purpose)

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (testing & trials)

I will fear no evil (protection)

For Thou art with me (faithfulness)

Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me (discipline)

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (hope)

Thou anointeth my head with oil (consecration)

My cup runneth over (abundance)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (blessings)

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (security).

May God guide our decisions and our words today and hold us close to His heart!